The chairman of the German football club Schalke 04, Clemens Tönnies, is stepping down from his post for three months following widespread condemnation of his comments linking climate change with overpopulation in Africa.

The announcement follows a hearing on Tuesday night, after which Schalke’s five-member honorary committee cleared the chairman of accusations of racism but said he had violated the club’s guiding principle of anti-discrimination.

Tönnies, a billionaire owner of a meat processing company, had told a conference last week that instead of increasing taxes to protect the environment the government should build power stations in Africa.

“Then the Africans would stop cutting down trees and produce babies when it is dark,” said the 63-year-old, who himself grew up as one of six siblings.

His comments were widely condemned by fans and former players. “I am a bit speechless,” said the Ghanaian-born former Germany and Schalke player Gerald Asamoah. “His comments surprised me, shocked me and injured me. He is insulting me and everyone else involved.”

Hans Sarpei, another Ghanaian-born former Schalke player, said: “These are racist comments that are in no way compatible with FC Schalke 04’s principles and our modern, open society.”

But the Schalke chairman also received unexpected support from Angela Merkel’s personal representative for Africa. “The problems Tönnies raised, such as the disappearance of the rainforest and population growth on the African continent are real and have to be talked about, if need be in a controversial discussion,” said Günter Nooke of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

In an opinion piece, Die Zeit newspaper wrote the decision to suspend Tönnies for only three months amounted to a whitewash, and showed Schalke was not able to shoulder the social responsibilities required of a modern football club.

“By the way,” the article added, “Germany emits more carbon dioxide than the entire continent of Africa, also because of the kind of mass animal farming with which Tönnies has made a fortune.”